Wikipedia Shows the Value of a Vibrant Public Domain (from Wikimedia blog)

Posted on Jan 16, 2014 in Wikimedia blog | Comments Off on Wikipedia Shows the Value of a Vibrant Public Domain (from Wikimedia blog)

Posted by Yana Welinder on January 14, 2014

While more commonly known as New Year’s Day, January 1 is also international Public Domain Day. It celebrates the day when creative works (such as books, images and songs) enter the public domain, which is the collective wealth of works that are not covered by copyright. Public domain works can be freely published, performed, remixed, translated and otherwise shared with the world. They can also be used to write and illustrate the largest online encyclopedia — Wikipedia. In relying on the public domain to provide free knowledge to millions of people around the world, Wikipedia illustrates the need for a growing body of freely-reusable works.